~ …give that you may live, for to withhold is to perish. (Adapted from Kahlil Gibran)

Towards a Community of Sharing: Reflections on a New @Voxer chat

On January 2, 2017, I found myself at a Best Western in Sonora, Texas nursing a bee sting and listening to various Voxerchats, including Edumatch, ConnectedTL, EngageChat. That’s when a request for help came in via Voxer. That evening also found me longing for a Texas Voxer community focused around teaching, learning, leading and edtech (well, of course!).

As I polished off my 8oz cup of Sonic french vanilla flavored coffee (quite good when you’ve been driving for a few hours, starving and bee stung), about to enter a caffeine-fueled swiftly flowing current of creativity (forgetting about my bee sting altogether until it started to throb at midnight, a 6-hour fugue), Dr. Dorian Roberts sent me a vox asking me about Microsoft stuff. She had been referred to me by Christy Cate (thanks!).

As we chatted via Voxer, I realized what a tremendous opportunity I was missing–the opportunity to setup a Voxerchat that results in me learning more about tons of different topics! And, what better way than to ask others to teach me what they are great at? So, with that idea in mind, I brainstormed (in a blink of an eye, since I was coffee crazed) what should be needed:

How is it working?Curious as to how it’s working? Well, it’s working great! Our first two guest agitators have included Diana Benner (@diben; Read Sprinkle Innovation Blog) and Eric Curts (@ericcurts; Read Control Alt Achieve Blog). Both have done an incredible job sharing ideas and getting conversations going. More importantly, others have jumped into the conversations and I’m thrilled to be learning with them.

For example, during the inaugural week, Dr. Katie Alaniz (you may remember her from my series on edtech coaching) jumped in each evening (more like LATE at night) and shared awesome research and insights into everything. Tons of other great folks are piling on this week, sharing their take-aways and learning.